New Stock Coverage: Get Your Kicks With Manchester United

Wall Street ratings agencies set the tone for today's stock market.

Stay Connected

With shares ending lower amid the most anemic volume of 2013, no wonder traders couldn't wait to see the closing belles. Markets moved to the downside after Goldman Sachs (GS), which appears to be forever caught between saying good buy and goodbye to equities, plumped for Fat Tuesday Eve to announce that we "will need time to digest the recent gains."

Some stocks did buck a bad tape. AOL Inc. (AOL) surged 7.44% after an analyst upgrade, even if its Huffington Post presently lists "Taylor Swift Disses Ex in a Big Way" and "Katy Perry's Boob Window" among its "Most Popular" items, with this morning's thermonuclear test out of North Korea apparently meriting far fewer clicks. Who needs Kim Jong-un when you've got Kim Kardashian as Search Engine Optimization Catnip? Except that the dictator in Pyongyang appears to be an infallible stock picker. No sooner does his father get embalmed in a khaki jumpsuit than Gap Inc. (GPS) - up 1.09% yesterday - suddenly finds itself back in fashion. And Nike (NKE) - beloved of his countrymen - just rose 1.15% after receiving a ratings increase.

Aerospace/Defense: BAE Systems (PINK:BAESY) is trading lower in London today after being rated no better than a new Neutral at JPMorgan, which rolls out Overweight research on rival European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS (PINK:EADSY).

Biotechnology: Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX) is a new Neutral at Robert W. Baird, which assigns it a price objective of $5. The broker is more upbeat on Outperform-rated Theravance (THRX), whose target is $27. They expect a positive FDA (Food and Drug Administration) advisory committee meeting on March 7 for its key product, with subsequent approval arriving by May 12 to send shares above $30.

Cincinnati Bell (CBB): Shares are resumed with an Underperform at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, while Deutsche Bank has a marginally more upbeat assessment of Hold.

CyrusOne (CONE): Morgan Stanley starts the stock at Equal-Weight and Raymond James has an Outperform.

DuPont (DD): The Dow (^DJI) component is covered at Equal Weight by Barclays.

Legacy Reserves (LGCY): Barclays launches LGCY at Overweight.

Macy's (M): The retailer is begun with a Buy at Maxim, whose price target is $50. Online sales are seen driving same store sales.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU): The storied soccer club, recently trading at post-IPO (Initial Public Offering) peaks, is picked up with an Outperform at Raymond James ahead of tomorrow's eagerly awaited match up with Real Madrid.

Navios Maritime Partners (NMM): The company is begun with a Buy at Citigroup.

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.